Automatic brake for baggage and express trucks.



E. W. TUCKER.

AUTOMATIC BRAKE FOR BAGGAGE ANDEXPRESS TRUCKS.

APPLICAHON FILED FEBJ Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

I/IIIIIIII/IIIMIIIIIIIIIIII;

/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA m. I W

'EDWIN w. antenna, or women 111mm, WISCONSIN.

auromarro BRAKE non 'BAGGAGE 1m rixrnnss TRUCKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented a 2, 1917.

Application filed February 1, 1916. Serial no. 75,536.

ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the. same.

This invention relates to self braking devices for railway baggage and express trucks and has for its primary object to provide an automatic means of braking the rear wheels of a truck when said truck is standing idle, to prevent various accidents and damages to the truck being blown ofi or tipped from platforms of railway stations andupon the railroad tracks in a loaded or unloaded condition, whereby carelessness on the part of employees leaving the truck nnchucked or braked is overcome.

Another object of this invention is to provide a brake to the rear wheels of the truck to be controlled and applied by the tongue of the truck when in a downwardly extended position or in an engagement with the plat forn'l or ground and also when it is in a vertical position, which is the proper position of the tongue by regulation of the railroad when lying idle, the tongue being held in such a position by a hook carried by the body of the truck.

Another and more specific object of-this invention is to provide a spring which is, under tension when the brakeis operated to provide means for moving the brake shoes of the-braking device away from an engagement with the rear wheels, when the tongue isin an upwardly inclined position or a position cause by the operator when pulling or pushing the truck about a station platform or other similar places.

With these and other objects in view, as

will become more apparent as the descrip-v tion proceeds, the invention consists in certam novel-featuresof construction, combination and arrangement of parts as W111 be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my 1nvention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing,

in which Figure 1. is a side sectional view of a railway truck, illustrating the braking device for the rear wheels, constructed in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of a brake beam and shoes carried by the underside and extending transversely of the truck, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a housing, illustrating the spring for moving the brake shoes away from an engagement with the rear wheels when the tongue is in an operative position, Fig. 4; is a front elevation of the upper and lower bolsters of a truck, illustrating the tongue in its lowermost position, and Fig. 5 isa detail perspective view,

illustrating the connection between the brake rod and the means for operating same when engaged by the tongue.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the body of "a railway baggage or express truck, having standards 2 and 3 secured-to the rear and front ends of the body 1. Secured to the body 1 is at rear axle 4, by means of brackets 5 and ournaled upon the rear axle 4 are wheels 6. Secured to the forward end of the body 1 are upper and lower bolsters 7 and 8, provided with substantially U-shaped portions 9 and 10. The U-shaped portions 9 of the upper bolsters 7 depend downwardly and the U- shaped portion 10 of the lower bolster 8 extends upwardly. Each of the bolsters 7 and 8 are provided with hearing plates 11 secured thereto by means of brackets 12. Secured to the lower bolster 8 is a front axle 13 which has journaled on the ends thereof wheels 14. The U-shaped portions 19 and 10 of the uppen and lower bolsters 7 and 8 are connected together by a hollow king bolt 15, to-provide means whereby the front wheels 14 may be turned to guide the truck. Hingedly secured to the lower bolster 8 is a tongue 16, by means of metallic members 17. The tongue 16 has secured to the free end a metallic handle 17' to be gripped by the operator to pull or push the truck about.

thereof, a transversely extending, brake beam 19. having brake shoes 20 secured to the ends thereof, for an engagement with the rear wheels 6. The brake beam 19 is provided with a crank portion 21 which depends dmvnwardly in an inclined direction thereform.

A cylindrical housing 22 is secured to the under side of the body 1, by means of brackets 23 and provided with its end walls apertured to allow a brake rod 24' to pass therethrough. A collar 25 is secured to the brake rod 24 within the housing 22 and normally held into engagement with the front wall 26 by means of a coil spring 27 which is interposed between the rear wall 28 and,

the collar 25. The front wall 26 is threaded to the housing 22 as illustrated at 29 to provide means whereby the tension means may be assembled and disassembled for repair when desired. 1

The rear end or portion of the brake rod 24 is bent downwardly in an inclined plane as illustrated at 30 and provided with its end bifurcated to form arms 31 to receive the crank 21 of the brake beam 19. The arms 31 are apertured to receive a pin or bolt 32 to prevent the brake rod 24 from accidentally disengaging the'crank 21.

Pivoted to the forward end of the body 1 and directly over the tongue 16 is an operating lever 33 which depends downwardly in a forward direction from the body 1. The forward end of the brake rod 24 is bifurcated to receive a pin 34 carried by the lever 33 intermediate its end. Secured to the free end of the lever 33 is a flexible element 35,

which passes over a. pulley 36 journaled in a bracket 37, that is secured to the body 1 and passes downwardly through the king bolt 15 and secured around a drum 38, by

any suitable means. The drum 38 is jourrectly beneath the king bolt 15 and held naled eccentrically of the axle 13 and diagainst lateral movement by collars 39. Pivoted to and adjacent the periphery of the drum 38 is a bar 40, which has its upper end pivoted to the tongue 16 at a point as illustrated at 41.

When the truck is being pulled or pushed by the operator, the tongue 16 will assume the position as illustrated in Fig. 1 and the brake shoes 20 will be held from an engagement with wheels 6 by the spring 27.

The requirement of railroads calls for the operator of trucks to always fasten the tongues of the truck by a hook 42 receiving an eye 43 on the tongue 16 i an upwardly or approximately vertical position. When the operator hooks up the tongue 16 to the hook 42 the tongue 16 will engage the lower end of the lever 33 and force it rearwardly causing the brake shoes 20 to engage the rear wheels 6through the brake rod 24 against the tension of the spring 27 and will prevent the tension of the spring 25 and apply the brake shoes to the rear wheels 6.

lVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it.

will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is':

1. In a device of the character described including a truck, a brake beam journaled transversely of said truck, brake shoes carried by the ends of the brake beam, a crank arm formed on said brake beam, a housing secured to the truck, a brake rod slidable through said housing and pivotally connected to the crank arm at one end thereof, a collar secured to said brake rod within the housing, a coil spring interposed between said collar and one end' of the housing to normally hold the brake rod in a forward position, and means connected to the forward end of the brake rod for an engagement with a tongue of the truck when this tongue is in a certain position to cause the brake rod to move in a rearward direction to apply the brake shoes to the wheels against the tension of said spring.

2. In a device of the character described including a truck, a brake beam journaled to said truck, brake shoes secured to the ends of said brake beam, a crank arm formed on said brake beam, a cylindrical housing secured to said truck, a brake rod.

slidable in said housing, means for securing y one end of the brake rod to the crank arm, an operating lever pivoted to the truck,

means for securing the lever to the forward end of said brake rod, means connected to the free end of the lever and to a tongue of v the truck for moving the brake rod in a 11 arwardly direction when the tongue is in a downwardly inclined position, and means for returningthe brake rod to a forwardly position when the tongue is in an operative position.

3. In a device of the character described including a truck, an upper and lower b01- ster, a hollow king bolt connecting said bolsters, a brake beam secured to said truck,

brake shoes secured to the ends of said' brake beam, a crank arm formed on said brake beam, a brake rod slidably secured to said truck, means for securing one end of the brake rod to the crank arm, an operating lever .pivoted to the forward end of the truck, meansfor securing the forward end of the brake rod to the operating lever, a pulley journaled to the truck, a drum journaled within the lower bolster, a flexible element secured to the free end of the operating lever and passed over the pulley through the king bolt and secured to the drum, a rod eccentrically secured to the drum and pivoted to a tongue of the truck for rotating the drum according to the movement thereof and for applying the brake shoes to the wheels of the truck when the tongue is in a downwardly inclined position.

4. In a device of the character described including a truck, a brake beam journaled to said truck, brake shoes secured to the ends of the brake beam, a crank arm formed on said brake beam, a brake rod slidably mounted to the truck, means for securing one end of the brake rod to the crank arm, an operating lever pivoted to the forward 'arms of the brake rod, and means for operating the operating lever rearwardly to apply the brake shoes to the rear wheels and means for normally holding the brake rod forwardly.

5. A brake for hand trucks, including a movably mounted brake beam, shoes con-- nected to the brake beam, means movably mounted on the truck and pivotally connected with the brake beam for an engagement with the truck tongue when swung upwardly, and means connected to the said movable means and to the truck tongue for moving said movable means when the truck tongue is swung downwardly.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN W. TUCKER. Witnesses:

GpH. TINTEL, B. E. MILLER. 

